JuJu Drama: Lessons From The Animals

Today I decided to take Juju Bean (the donkey) on her first casual walk with me. I decided to make the first one short and sweet, by leading her up the road behind my cabin and back. No water to contend with, just a nice path into the forest. She did really well, until we came back home to the gate to her fenced in area.... then she pulled me like a determined kid pulling a piece of taffy with their whole face. She tugged hard on the rope halter and tried to pull me down, as my tiny amount of body weight pulled back.
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Lesson #1: Learning to be assertive when it counts!
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I had to stay calm and look her directly in the eye and firmly command that the gate was the direction we were going and under no uncertain terms was she going to tell me where to go. WTF is it that makes it SoooooooOOOoOooo hard to do this? Although I am an extroverted personality I don't believe I am all that assertive in my personal interactions... let's just say I am bleeding heart for all that walks & lives on this earth & beyond. My first thoughts are 'if i was her i wouldn't wanna go back in either, i would wanna keep walking and BE FREE!' --- all this comes to me with a swoosh like the Born Free Movie "born free, as free as the wind blows as free as the grass grows...." (i know I am big sucker and wild spirit!)
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After I got her into the gate, we proceeded to have a lil' hissy bitch fight. I got her a carrot treat to reward her and she ran away from me into some bushes and nearly refused the carrot - finally took it from me, then ran away from me again. Just like any bad relationship moment I felt like a failure and wanted to cry while she ignored me pouting on a log - but when I decided to walk back to the cabin and leave her alone she called out to me in bellowing HEE HAW's to not leave her.
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Lesson #2: 2nd time's more a charm!
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I did leave her for a bit then came back to take her for a second walk. After the rules were established she eased up on her sassy sh*t and actually started to enjoy our hike .... so much that she crossed a creek twice and we found some apples together! I thought about how it's easy to forget that the first time we do just about anything it's a little clunky & ridiculous, there's nothing in life that seems to not need practice! I mean, really.... remember your first dance, first time behind the wheel of a car, first time you did the dirty deed?!!! Yep.
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Thanks Juju...
XOxox